For Rip it wasn't a play me or trade me,...but looks like he wanted to stick it to the Pistons and relax on their bench and continue to collect the cash.

The Pistons and the Cleveland Cavaliers agreed to a trade that would have sent Richard Hamilton to the Cavaliers, but the deal fell apart when Hamilton and the Cavaliers could not agree to terms on a buyout, Yahoo! Sports reported

For Rip it wasn't a play me or trade me,...but looks like he wanted to stick it to the Pistons and relax on their bench and continue to collect the cash.

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For all you jerks criticizing Joe D, choke on this one!!!

The Pistons will have a pick near the top of the second round from Toronto from the trade that sent Carlos Delfino to the Raptors in 2007. The Pistons will also have the least favorable of the second-round picks Denver has: its own and Portland's. If the season ended today, the Pistons would pick 34th and 50th in the second round in addition to their own first-round pick in the lottery.

For Rip it wasn't a play me or trade me,...but looks like he wanted to stick it to the Pistons and relax on their bench and continue to collect the cash.

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This is shocking. You mean Rip didn't want to give up his lucrative, guaranteed multi-year contract to help out the team that has spent the last few months crapping on him and treating him like garbage?

This is shocking. You mean Rip didn't want to give up his lucrative, guaranteed multi-year contract to help out the team that has spent the last few months crapping on him and treating him like garbage?

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B-Diddy could have been Rip's new set up man or even fed him a few dunk attempts from his KIA.

so, while the entire league decided to shake up their rosters, JoeD did the thing he's doing best... wait and see. Well, with around 8 SG's, an over aged C and a bunch of mediocre players, there was no reason to do any trades. Well played

Where does this put Oklahoma City amongst the elite out West? This team is still a clear step behind both the Spurs (especially) and Lakers on paper, but the Thunder have given the Lakers all they can handle recently, and even the most fair-weather of NBA followers can recall that the Thunder were one secured rebound away from taking the Lakers to a seventh game in the playoffs last season. At worst, with Nate Collison shoring up that frontcourt, and Kevin Durant's ever increasing ability to slide over to power forward, this is a team on par with the Dallas Mavericks.

At best? The Thunder could save their best run of the year, in an up-and-down year, for spring. It's quite feasible.

This is another in a long line of heady moves for Oklahoma City GM Sam Presti. The team didn't give up any draft picks, it didn't affect its salary outlook (it'll be under the cap this offseason, the amount depending on what it does with Perkins) in any meaningful way, and nobody is going to want to touch these guys come May.

Careful planning leads to the ability to take advantage of great timing. Sam Presti's team is certainly an example of that.

Other than maybe the Nets, who made a long term play, the Thunder had far and away the best day yesterday. If Perkins comes into the opportunity with his head on straight (and he gets over the injuries), he can transform the character of that team. He will have Durant's back and do the dirty work no one else on the team seems able to do. It seems a perfect fit and a really smart move.

• Richard Hamilton(notes)
Hamilton nearly had the freedom he covets but didn’t want to surrender part of the last season of his contract to do so.
Hamilton has bickered with Pistons coach John Kuester most of the season and has played in just one game since Jan. 10. The Pistons were close to trading him to the Cavs – along with a first-round pick – but Hamilton didn’t want to play in Cleveland. The Cavs would have still taken him if he would have given up about $9 million of the $25 million he’s owed over the next two seasons.
Hamilton balked. Now, he’s staying in Detroit with no clear role for the future.

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I don't understand why people get on Rip's case. He refused to give up $9M to go from a bad situation to a worse situation. Yeah, as fans we don't like it, but every single person would do exactly the same thing Rip did if we were in his shoes. It's not like it was the Celtics knocking on his door.

I don't understand why people get on Rip's case. He refused to give up $9M to go from a bad situation to a worse situation. Yeah, as fans we don't like it, but every single person would do exactly the same thing Rip did if we were in his shoes. It's not like it was the Celtics knocking on his door.

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He was going to get bought out by the Cavs, and likely picked up by Boston or another contender for a run this year and with the chance to get a contract next year. I can't blame him for wanting the guaranteed money, but he better not complain about his situation when he clearly had an out.